Raiders clawed by ‘cats’ a second straight game.

Tonight it was the Bobcats of Ohio University (9-1) that sunk their claws into the young Raiders (4-8), winning 82-54 in front of an announced 3749 fans including a large OU contingent. There is nothing positive to say about the green and gold for this game. A very frustrated Coach Donlon said after the game, “We are going to find out what we are about. We are going to find out if people are serious.”

The numbers are ugly. WSU shot 41% in the first period (1-7 behind the arc) and 35% in the second (2-8 behind the arc). The Raiders shot 3-13 from the “charity” stripe in the first half. Wright State was outrebounded 18-10 in the first and 32-25 overall. Turnovers totaled 21 – 12 in the first and 9 in the second; OU committed 19 turnovers.

Cole Darling scored 11 points on 5-11 shooting and pulled down 7 boards in 24 minutes on the court. OU’s D. J. Cooper exploded for 20 points and 9 rebounds. Baltic added 15 and Keely contributed 11. The score was tied once (3-3) and WSU never led. OU’s largest lead was 32.

Absolutely nothing went WSU’s way tonight – free throws, shooting, loose balls, long rebounds, nothing. One tweet shortly after the game from a long time Raider fan said it all: “Wow… This is hard to watch. Is actually the worst Wright State Raider team I’ve seen in 16 years as a season ticket holder! SAD!!!”

I spoke to a few fans during and after the game and the common opinion was this is a bad basketball team. It’s hard to say and type this statement but at this point, it’s just the fact. They are young and there is talent to develop but tonight, this season, the players have a long way to go and fans will need a lot of patience. Coach Donlon said it best, “I think you just have to find out who is really here for the reasons they need to be here.”

Next up for WSU is Idaho Tuesday night at home at 7pm. Hope a few fans come back.

Postgame Audio

WSU players

Coach Donlon

OU coach

Photos © and Courtesy of Tim G. Zechar

Second straight game decided at the buzzer: Raiders win this one 63-62

By Mike Klingshirn

Dayton, OH – The Youngstown State Penguins got off to a sizzling start, scorching the nets by hitting eight of their first eleven three-point attempts to open up an early 30-13 lead over the Wright State Raiders. But in the end, it was the Wright State Raiders that chilled the Penguins with a 63-62 victory, in a game that was decided at the buzzer.

“This win was significant,” said a pleased Wright State head coach Billy Donlon. “I believe that they (Youngstown State) will compete for the top of our league.”

The contest, witnessed by an announced crowd of 2,879, started with four lead changes over the game’s first five minutes of play, as the Raiders (3-5, 1-1 HL) built an early 7-6 lead. It was then, that the Penguins (5-2, 1-1 HL) caught fire with near perfect shooting from beyond the arc, to take a 17-point advantage with 7:14 left in the half.

However, Wright State quickly followed with a 9-0 run to close the margin to eight points (30-22) before heading into the halftime locker room trailing 38-32.

The second half began with WSU’s Julius Mays attacking and getting to the rim. He scored six straight points for his team on two drives to the hoop, sandwiched around a pair of free throws. That gave the Raiders their first lead in more than 20 minutes of action, at 42-41 with 14:24 to play.

The lead changed hands six times and there were three tied scores over the remainder of the contest.

AJ Pacher drained a trey to give Wright State a 62-57 lead with 2:45 left. However, the Penguins tied it on a pair of free throws by Kendrick Perry and a 3-pointer by Blake Allen at 1:32 to set up the game’s final dramatics.

The Raiders called timeout with 34 seconds remaining to set up a final play. Although Youngstown State had committed just four personal fouls in the half, and had a couple of fouls to give before sending the Raiders to the free-throw line in the bonus, Armond Battle was fouled putting up a shot, while driving the left baseline with 1.6 seconds showing on the clock. Battle sank the first attempt, but missed the second. The Penguins grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 1.0 second remaining.

In a well designed play, the Penguins’ DuShawn Brooks threw a court-long pass to Damian Eargle, who caught the ball in the paint. He turned around with an open look at the hoop. His shot went high off of the back of the rim, and barely missed on the way down, as the buzzer sounded. The Raiders avoided a Christian Laettner moment and came away with a thrilling 63-62 victory.

“For our guys to lose the way that we did on Thursday, and to be down (30-13) on our home floor in the first half – to have the chutzpah to find a way to win, says a lot about the players and assistant coaches in that locker room, because it took a family effort to win,” said Donlon. “That’s significant moving forward.”

“No disrespect to the D-III team, or whoever we played,” said Wright State’s Julius Mays, “But I don’t feel that we won a real game at home yet, and to win a conference game at home feels good.”

Vance Hall was outstanding on defense. He played 38 minutes, guarding Youngstown’s leading scorer Kendrick Perry (17.3 points per game) all night. Hall held Perry to just 2-of-11 from the field. Hall’s defense was a big difference in the game.

Julius Mays led the Raiders in scoring with 19 points. AJ Pacher scored a career high (16), while Armond Battle tied his career high (13). Pacher and Battle led the Raiders, who out-rebounded YSU 32-26, with seven boards each.

WSU outscored the Penguins 30-2 in the paint, while their bench also held a 22-3 advantage over YSU’s.

Postgame Audio

WSU’s Donlon

WSU’s Mays and Battle

Photos © and Courtesy of Tim G. Zechar

Raiders drop heartbreaker to the Vikings on last second shot.

The game was closer than many expected to the delight of the 3349 in attendance. The Horizon League opener had the makings of another huge loss but Wright State (2-5, 0-1) played tough and were oh so close to breaking the losing streak, now standing at four games.

The Raiders played Cleveland State to a 21 all tie in the first half on 40% shooting from the field. The Vikings struggled with 36% shooting.

The game was a dry run for future Dayton CW live broadcasts and featured WDTN’s Jack Pohl and WSU great Bob Grote. Emily Szink played the sideline reporter a la Erin Andrews of ESPN.

WSU got the ball to start the second half and AJ Pacher went strong to the basket to give the Raiders the 23-21 lead to start the half. It would seesaw back and forth the rest of the game as WSU would should 41% in the second period while CSU warmed up to 42% shooting. CSU outrebounded WSU 28-21 but committed 16 turnovers to WSU’s 11. Wright State’s 64% free throw shooting can be looked at as a factor in the loss.

Still WSU had a shot to win the game when the Vikings bricked a long three attempt giving the ball to the Raiders. An over and back call against Wright State gave the ball back to CSU for the last seconds of the game. A tip in by D’Aundary Brown with under a second on the clock gave CSU the 45-43 lead. A length of the court heave by WSU with .3 on the clock failed and Wright State would drop its fifth in a row the the Vikings (7-1, 1-0).

No Raider would get double figure points and Tim Kamcztc would be the sole player to get double figures in the game (12).

The Raiders return to action Saturday against a much improved Youngstown State squad in a 3pm tip.

Postgame Audio

WSU’s Matt Vest and AJ Pacher

Coach Donlon on CSU game

CSU Coach Gary Waters

Photos © and Courtesy of Tim G. Zechar

A tale of two periods as WSU wins second game of 11-12 season

A tale of two periods.

Like high scoring games? You would have slept through the first half of the Jackson State game (Global Sports Shootout) last night at the Nutter Center. The 3159 in attendance may very well have nodded off a few times as the first score of the game didn’t come until the 16:35 mark when Jackson State’s Bush hit a jumper. Wright State did not score until nearly nine minutes had lapsed and that bucket was awarded on a basket interference call. At one point WSU was shooting 1-12 from the field (the one again not an actual through the hoop score).

The Raiders (2-1) would trail the entire half until the Kendall Griffin hit a jumper with 46 ticks left in the period giving WSU the lead 15-14. Reggie Arceneaux would score once more before the buzzer to give WSU a 17-14 lead going into the locker room.

Wake up people! The second half would be a different story. The Raiders would eventually score 39 in the second while Jackson State would heat up but still only score 25.  The final score would be 56-39.   Reggie Arceneaux swished three 3 pointers in the second half; Balwigaire and Battle would each add one apiece in the second period.

Wright State would end up shooting a miserable 31 percent from the field but Jackson State was even worse at 26%. The Raiders scored 13 points off the 21 JSU turnovers. WSU was outrebounded 38-36.

Not pretty but a win nonetheless to go to 2-1 on the season. Next up is Monday night at 7pm vs Florida (St. Pete Times Forum) for the next round of the Global Sports Shootout (Fox Sports Florida).

Post game Audio

WSU’s Darling and Arceneaux

WSU’s Billy Donlon

Photos © and Courtesy of Tim G. Zechar

Buckeyes Eat the Raiders 73-42

By Mike Klingshirn

Columbus, OH – It was finally here – the season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes. This was the contest that had been staring the Raiders in the face since last March, after their elimination from the Horizon League tournament.

If there is one word to describe the current WSU team, it would be “inexperience.” Ten players are making their Raider debut this year, while the other six have been with the Wright State program for just one season. Given that situation, the WSU men’s basketball team prepared for the 2011-12 campaign with some extra summer practice and an August trip to Italy to play four games against Italian professional teams.

The Italian trip was not limited to just basketball. The Raiders took in several tourist attractions, among them, was a trip to the ancient Roman Coliseum — probably the most famous sports venue in all of history.

On the surface, tonight’s battle against the Buckeyes appeared to be an overwhelming task, especially after a disappointing exhibition game performance against Division-II Central State, a contest in which the WSU fell behind 14-2 and never led at any point. As the Raiders stepped off of their bus, hours prior to tip-off, one could excuse the team for having flashbacks to the Roman Coliseum — a place where it is rumored that Christians were fed to the lions.

The Green and Gold must have felt like they were about to be thrown to the lions, because inside Ohio State’s Value City Arena, the Buckeyes, a talent-laden beast of an opponent, ranked third in the nation, awaited their prey.

However, on this night, the Raiders had a little bit of a fight in them. After falling behind 9-2 to start the game, WSU played toe-to-toe with OSU over the next ten minutes. An AJ Pacher 3-pointer pulled Wright State to within 24-17 with 6:06 left in the half.

“Ohio State didn’t come out and pressure a lot right away,” said Wright State head coach Billy Donlon. “But then, we gave them the ball some — like unforced errors in tennis. They (OSU) could smell our fear and pounced on it.” The Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run over the next six minutes and closed the half with a 34-20 lead.

After being out-rebounded 48-22 in their exhibition contest against Central State, the Raiders held a surprising 14-12 halftime advantage on the boards, limiting Ohio State to just two offensive rebounds in the half.

Unfortunately for Wright State, OSU’s quickness, strength, and athleticism were too much. Fouls and turnovers mounted as a result. WSU committed 16 first half miscues, while the Buckeyes outscored the Raiders 16-2 from the charity stripe — the difference in the halftime score.

Ohio State quickly erased any Wright State thoughts of keeping this a competitive contest by scoring the first ten points of the second half to go up 44-20 at the 15:48 media timeout. The rout was on, and a handful of the 15,645 in attendance began making an early exit for the parking lots.

“We had some shots at the rim all night that we didn’t finish,” said Donlon. “Basketball is a slim-margin game. We came out in the second half and missed a layup at the rim — not highly contested. Ohio State comes down and turns it over. We miss a second layup at the rim. If we finish those two layups, we’re only down ten. Then we missed a third straight layup at the rim. I want our guys to attack the basket … and they did.”

The Buckeyes continued their assault throughout the remainder of the night to put the final touch on a 73-42 victory.

“Wright State is a young ball club,” said Ohio State head coach Thad Matta. “For them to go on the road for the first game … I thought that they had pretty good poise at running their offense and positioning defensively.”

The Wright State big men (Mpondo, Pacher, Sledge) had a difficult time keeping up with the Buckeyes inside. All three fouled out in 14, 24, and 15 minutes of action respectively. OSU outscored the Green and Gold 26-8 in the paint.

AJ Pacher led WSU in scoring with 13 points, hitting 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 5-of-8 from the field. Reggie Arceneaux was the only other Raider to score in double figures, with 11 points. Tavares Sledge grabbed a team high eight rebounds.

Overall, the Raiders shot 31 percent (13-of-41) from the field to Ohio State’s 45 percent (21-of-47). Twenty of OSU’s points came off of 25 Wright State turnovers. The Buckeyes won the battle of the boards 34-28.

Jared Sullinger led Ohio State with 19 points, going 4-of-7 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line. He also led the Bucks with nine rebounds and three blocked shots. William Buford, the go-to guy in the second half, contributed with 13 points, while Aaron Craft added 10. Twelve Buckeyes saw action in the contest, and eleven of them contributed by scoring points.

Wright State resumes action on Sunday afternoon with a 3:00 contest with the Kenyon College Lords.

Post game Audio

OSU’s Thad Matta

WSU’s Billy Donlon

OSU’s Sullinger and Buford

Raiders Release 2011-12 Schedule; One More to Come

Wright State men’s basketball head coach Billy Donlon has released the 2011-12 schedule that includes games against Cincinnati, Ohio State and Florida. The Raiders need one more game to complete the schedule.

“The non-conference schedule is one of the strongest ever played here at Wright State, which will help better prepare us for the difficulties of Horizon League play,” Donlon said. “We will need great support from our fans in order to continue to make Wright State’s Nutter Center one of the toughest places to play.”

The season opens with the Global Sports Shootout November 11 as the Raiders visit Ohio State. WSU has not played the Buckeyes since the 1992-93
season. The tournament continues as the Raiders head home to open against Jackson State November 16 before travelling to Florida to play the Gators in
Tampa November 21 and at North Florida November 23 to finish the event. WSU will host Charlotte to end November on the 26th.

December starts when Cleveland State and Youngstown State come to town December 1 and 3. WSU hits the road to play at Air Force and at Miami December 7 and 10. The Cincinnati Bearcats travel north to open a four-game home stand on December 14 followed by Ohio December 17, Idaho December 20 and Central Michigan December 22 or 23. The month ends with road conference games at Loyola and UIC on the 29th and 31st.

The new year starts with Butler and Valparaiso at the Wright State Nutter Center January 5 and 7. WSU will then play three away from home with trips to Milwaukee, Green Bay and Detroit on January 12, 14 and 21. UIC and Loyola end the month with games on the Nutter Center floor January 25 and 27.

The final month of regular-season games starts with a trip to Butler and Valparaiso February 2 and 4 before WSU hosts three games to end the home portion of the schedule as Green Bay, Milwaukee and Detroit visit February 9, 11 and 14. The regular season ends with three road contests as the Raiders will play at a BracketBuster opponent February 18 and at Youngstown State and Cleveland State February 23 and 25.

The Horizon League Tournament starts at the home sites of the three, four, five and six seeds on February 28. The second round and semi-final games will be played at the top seed’s home court March 2 and 3 while the championship game is slated for the highest remaining seed March 7.

Wright State University

2011-12 Men’s Basketball Schedule

Tentative Times and Dates Subject to Change

November

Global Sports Shootout

11 Friday at Ohio State TBA

16 Wednesday JACKSON STATE TBA

21 Monday Florida ^ 7:00

23 Wednesday at North Florida 7:00

26 Saturday CHARLOTTE TBA

December

1 Thursday CLEVELAND STATE TBA

3 Saturday YOUNGSTOWN STATE TBA

7 Wednesday at Air Force 9:00

10 Saturday at Miami TBA

14 Wednesday CINCINNATI TBA

17 Saturday OHIO TBA

20 Tuesday IDAHO TBA

22/23 Thurs./Fri. CENTRAL MICHIGAN TBA

29 Thursday at Loyola 8:00

31 Saturday at UIC 1:00

January

5 Thursday BUTLER TBA

7 Saturday VALPARAISO TBA

12 Thursday at Milwaukee 8:00

14 Saturday at Green Bay TBA

21 Saturday at Detroit TBA

25 Wednesday UIC TBA

27 Friday LOYOLA TBA

February

2 Thursday at Butler/Valparaiso TBA

4 Saturday at Butler/Valparaiso TBA

9 Thursday GREEN BAY TBA

11 Saturday MILWAUKEE TBA

14 Tuesday DETROIT TBA

18 Saturday at BracketBusters TBA

23 Thursday at Youngstown State 7:00

25 Saturday at Cleveland State TBA

28 Tuesday Horizon League First Round TBA

March

2 Friday Horizon League Second Round # TBA

3 Saturday Horizon League Semifinals ! (ESPNU) TBA

6 Tuesday Horizon League Championship ! (ESPN) 9:00

HOME GAMES IN CAPS

All Times Eastern

^ St. Petersburg Times Forum

Horizon League Games #
Site of Regular Season Champ

+ Campus Sites (7:00 Local Time) !
Higher Remaining Seed

Raider Basketball to Play in Global Sports Shootout – Will Meet Ohio State and Florida

DAYTON – The Wright State men’s basketball team will play in the four-game Global Sports Shootout to start the 2011-12 season, facing Ohio State, Florida and North Florida on the road and Jackson State at home.

The Raiders open the season and the tournament at Ohio State, which finished the season at 32-2 with the second best RPI in the nation.  WSU will then host Jackson State on Nov. 16 before traveling to play Florida on a neutral court in Tampa Nov. 21 and at North Florida Nov. 23.

“I am excited to participate in this event as we will have a chance to compete against two of the best teams in college basketball in The Ohio State University and the University of Florida,” WSU head coach Billy Donlon said.  “North Florida and Jackson State both will compete for their league championships, which will also help prepare our team for Horizon League play.  I believe our team will need to grow up quickly and the only way to do that is by playing the best, and we will certainly do that with our non-conference schedule.”

The Raiders have played twice at OSU, the most recent was early in the 1992-93 season.  WSU has never met the other schools.  Florida finished 26-7 last year with the nation’s eighth best RPI.  North Florida advanced to the championship game of the Atlantic Sun Tournament while Jackson State of the SWAC ended the season at 17-15, 12-6.

WSU finished last year at 19-14 overall and will take a 10-day Italian Tour Aug 20-30.  During the early signing period, the Raiders inked 6-4 guard Kendall Griffin, 6-8 forward Alex Pritchett and 6-9 forward Tavares Sledge. Last week, Donlon signed 6-3 guard Jason Cuffee and 6-2 junior college guard John Balwigaire.

GLOBAL SPORTS SHOOTOUT

November 11 – 25, 2011

NOV. 11                       WRIGHT STATE @ OHIO STATE

NOV. 16                       JACKSON STATE @ WRIGHT STATE

NOV. 21                       WRIGHT STATE @ FLORIDA   (St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL)

NOV. 23                       WRIGHT STATE @ NORTH FLORIDA

Gazdik Named Assistant AD for Marketing & Promotions

Mark Gazdik, assistant athletic director for marketing at Southern Illinois University, has been named to a similar position at Wright State University, announced WSU director of athletics Bob Grant Tuesday.

Gazdik, who also formerly worked at Xavier University, greatly increased revenue across the board for all sports at SIU, including a 21% jump in men’s basketball season tickets over the last four years. During his tenure in Carbondale, he oversaw all marketing, promotions, sales, game presentation and brand management. Gazdik also served as the Director of Licensing for SIU, managed the department’s retail partnerships, oversaw the Video Services Department and was the department’s day-to-day contact with Southern Illinois’ multimedia partner, Saluki Sports Properties.

“We are extremely excited that Mark is joining our team,” Grant said. “In an area that is paramount to our success, Mark’s depth and breadth of experience will be a big plus for us. In our search process, his accomplishments at Xavier and SIU grabbed our attention.”

In his new position, Gazdik will oversee all aspects of marketing and promotions including ticket sales and game atmosphere.

“In my conversations with Bob Grant, and the rest of the staff, it became clear that we have a shared vision that includes academic and athletic excellence on a national level, which makes Wright State University a very attractive place,” Gazdik said. “I appreciate the opportunity to join the Raider team, and am looking forward to working with all the Wright State University students, staff, alumni, and fans to reach new heights.”

A member of the Salukis’ senior administration team, Gazdik also served as one of the authors of the Salukis’ successful NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Grant proposal that was awarded for the 2010-11 season.

Prior to arriving at SIU, Gazdik was the Assistant Director of Marketing at Xavier University for nearly two years where he worked closely with current Raider Women’s Basketball Head Coach Mike Bradbury while marketing the Musketeers’ women’s basketball program. Gazdik also oversaw Olympic sports programs, department community outreach, fundraisers and special events; and served as part of the corporate sales team, producer for men’s basketball games, advisor to the X-treme Fans student group and adjunct professor in Xavier’s Sport Administration Graduate Program.

Gazdik began his career as the Marketing Assistant at Xavier and also served as Assistant Director of Sports Marketing at the University of Delaware.

Gazdik is a 2002 graduate of Xavier University with a degree in Sport Management. He received his master’s in Sport Administration from Xavier in December 2004. Mark and his wife, Stacy, have two sons, Noah and Jack.

Balwigaire Makes It Official

DAYTON – John Balwigaire, a 6-2, 170-pound guard at Mesa (AZ) Community College, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Wright State University and play basketball for Raiders next year, WSU head coach Billy Donlon announced today.

Balwigaire, a native of Hemet, CA, averaged 18.5 points, 2.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds for the Thunderbirds this past season under head coach Sam Ballard.  The West Valley High School graduate was named second-team All-ACCAC and first-team All-Region.  He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

“We would like to welcome John to the Raider family,” Donlon said.  “His skills and experience will help alleviate our loss in scoring from our four seniors—N’Gai Evans, Vaughn Duggins, Cooper Land and Troy Tabler.  He has an ability to score in multiple ways and, with his fine athleticism, should have a great impact on next year’s team.”

He shot 80.2% from the free throw line and 41.1% from the field overall.  The West Valley HS graduate shot 43.9% from three, which was second in the ACCAC.  Balwigaire also led the T-Birds with 1.8 steals per game.  He was twice named conference player of the week this year.  As a freshman, he helped lead Mesa to the Region I Champion as he averaged 8.7 points.

“John Balwigaire had a great career at Mesa,” Ballard said.  “He was an integral part of our Region 1 championship in 2010, and was probably the best guard in the conference last season, averaging almost 19 points a game. He is quick, athletic, and possesses great footwork. He has the best shot setup that I have coached in almost 30 years in the business. We hate to see him go, and I personally wish I could coach him forever. He has been a joy to me, my family, his teammates, and Mesa.”

As a senior, he was named first-team All-Sunbelt League when he averaged 12.0 points and 4.5 assists per game for the Mustangs.

During the early signing period, the Raiders inked 6-4 guard Kendall Griffin, 6-8 forward Alex Pritchett and 6-9 forward Tavares Sledge. Last week, Donlon inked 6-3 guard Jason Cuffee.  The Raiders finished the 2011 season with a record 19-14.  The team will play a tour of Italy August 20-30.